The Hive
by moosmiles
Summary: Esme is back at school after spending the summer in rehab. Between no longer being Queen Bee and troubles at home, this is going to be struggle unlike any other.
1. Chapter 1

_Title: The Hive_

 _Rating: M_

 _Chapter: 1_

 _Fandom: Degrassi: The Next Generation_

 _Summary: Esme is back at school after spending the summer in rehab. Between no longer being Queen Bee and troubles at home, this is going to be struggle unlike any other._

 _Comments: I about passed out when I found out Degrassi Next Class got cancelled because now I'll never get to find out the rest of Esme's story. So, I'm going to write it._

 _Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the idea._

Esme sighed in relief as she climbed out of her car. She tugged her messenger bag over her shoulder and squinted, surprised that sun could get even brighter outside of her car. She started up to the front steps, not looking for anyone.

She was just glad to be somewhere that wasn't rehab, or the "mental health facility" as her doctor and everyone else had called it. They didn't like the word "rehab". It had negative connotations and the people working in public relations would have a field day if their center reflected the horror-esque stories of the word "rehab".

And now, even after being home for only three days, she just wanted to get away from her father and his new girlfriend he had picked up over the summer. Her name was Tara. Tara had spent the last three days reminding Esme how much of a burden she was. How grateful she should be that her father hadn't acquired enough money to ship her away to boarding school, or even military school.

"Esme."

Just as she had reached the top of the stairs, Esme heard her name. Her, now, shoulder length curls flew around her head as she turned to face the person beckoning her. She pushed her sunglasses up into her hair and forced herself to smile. "Hey Hollingsworth."

"You're back." Esme could barely hear Frankie's whisper. Her perfect pink lips hung open in disbelief as she looked Esme up and down.

"I love your hair," Lola chirped from one side of Frankie. Shay was on the other.

Esme looked at Lola and pursed her red painted lips into a smile. "Thank you," she struggled to say. Her therapist had told her to try being more respectful and less judgmental, especially when people were being nice to her.

"I'm glad you're back," Frankie finally uttered, her voice wavering.

Esme smirked, glancing at the Degrassi sign beside her. "It's great to be back." She turned back to the doors and walked inside without another word.

She started looking for her locker and reading her schedule assignment when she heard her name again. She turned around and sighed heavily in annoyance as Principal Simpson walked over, followed by a young man who looked to be about thirty. She shoved her sunglasses into her bag to keep herself preoccupied. She looked up when they were suddenly standing in front of her. "Principal Simpson."

"Miss Song. This is Mister Del Rossi. He's our new school counselor," Mister Simpson introduced, gesturing to Mister Del Rossi. "He has been updated on your recent psych evaluation by your doctor and will be your new best friend this year." He looked between the two. "I suggest you get familiar with each other." With that, he walked away to go back to the rest of his first day duties.

Esme pursed her lips together and sighed. "Great."

"It's nice finally getting to put a face to the name," Mister Del Rossi spoke up finally, sounding rather pleasant. Esme was surprised he actually had a voice, with how much the principal had dominated the conversation so far. "I've been reading your file and I'd like to talk to you, in my office."

Esme nodded, agreeing quietly, "Yeah. Of course."

She followed the newest staff member to his office, which had yet to have a name plate on it. She sat down on the couch across from his desk. He didn't sit down at his desk. He picked up her file off his desk and sat down in the chair next to the couch.

"So, Esme. I see you were just released," the school counselor paused to read her forms, "Friday." He looked up at her, asking, "How is it being back home?"

"It's fine, Sir," Esme replied with a shrug. The bell rang, signaling that first period had begun. She looked at the closed door and pointed. "Should I be in class?"

Mister Del Rossi shook his head, assuring, "It's alright. I'll sign you off." He paused a minute, informing, "In fact, anytime you're feeling overwhelmed or like you need someone to talk to, you are more than welcome to come here to talk. Or even, just take a break. I'll write you a pass and sign some forms."

Esme furrowed her brow, wincing. "I'm that crazy, huh?"

He cleared his throat, shaking his head, "Crazy is not a word I prefer you using. I don't think your doctor would approve of it either."

"But I am. Aren't I?" Esme asked, tilting her head to the side with a smirk. "I mean, the principal took time before classes even start on the first day to introduce you to me and you pull me into your office to keep me from going to class." She shook her head, shrugging, "Why would that happen if I weren't a liability?"

"You are not a liability, Esme," he assured, shifting in his chair so he sat up straighter. "You were not well for a long time. We all just want to make sure you're feeling well."

Esme took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "Can I please just go to class?" she whispered, through with talking about her problems.

Mister Del Rossi nodded, getting up to get a pad of paper from his desk. "Yeah. Let me write you a pass." He scribbled some words down on a small sheet of yellow paper and passed it to her.

Esme snatched it from him and stood abruptly, walking out of the room.

Esme's day didn't get much better after leaving the school counselor's office. If anything, hearing the whispers during classes and in between periods in the halls made it worse. She almost wished someone would say something to her face, so she could combat the rumors, but the rehab staff had told her not to be so bellicose towards others. Even if they were being assholes behind her back.

Esme was almost excited that the first day was an accelerated day so that she could leave sooner. But then, she would have to return to the apartment she lived in.

Esme packed her assignments for the next day into her bag before slamming the locker shut.

She was hoping to make it outside without being acknowledged, but that must have been too much to ask of the universe.

"Hey Easy Esme."

Esme stopped walking and found Hunter propped up against a locker, his foot kicked up behind him. Baaz stood beside him. "Can I help you?" she asked, already annoyed by the carnivorous smirk on his face.

"I was just telling Baaz here about your escapees with my sister. Or should I say, sexscpees?" Hunter taunted, elbowing his friend lightly in the side. Baaz looked uncomfortable, obviously more afraid of Esme than Hunter, but that didn't stop the youngest Hollingsworth boy from continuing. "I guess, Frankie's not the only Hollingsworth you've fucked either, huh? I almost forgot you whored around with my brother for a while until you almost killed him." He let out a belly heavy laugh. "I'd ask you if you would want to fool around with the last of the Hollingsworth kids, but you'd probably have to add someone else to the mix or get me high on horse tranquilizer."

"Dude," Baaz hissed in disgust, but he didn't seem to want to defend Esme.

Esme couldn't keep it in anymore and she jumped forward, tackling Hunter to the ground. Baaz jumped back as far as he could from them. Esme scratched at the side of Hunter's face before he caught her wrists in each of his hands.

"This must be foreplay for you, huh?" He taunted as he took control, rolling them over so he now dominated their fight.

"Get off of me!" Esme shouted, wriggling beneath him to escape.

"Get you off?" Hunter taunted with a laugh. "I bet you'd like that."

"Hunter!"

Hunter looked up and found bunches of students surrounding him and Esme, specifically his twin sister and her friends.

"Mister Hollingsworth." A pair of hands grabbed him by the back of his shirt and tugged him off Esme. He growled when he realized it was a social studies teacher, Mister Perino. Perino leaned over and helped Esme off her back. "Of course, Miss Song." He looked between the two of them, honestly wondering how he always got involved with this kind of situation. "Principal's office. Now!" he barked.

Esme heaved for air, closing her eyes. And, making sure she was several steps behind Hunter, followed him to office.

When they arrived at the front office, the principal was talking with several other staff members outside his door. He sighed heavily at the sight of Hunter, followed by Esme and then Mister Perino. "What happened?" he asked.

"Go," Perino ordered the two students into the office before explaining the situation quietly to the principal.

Esme sat uncomfortably in one of the chairs across from the desk. Hunter stood, leaning against the window as they waited for adult supervision.

"My offer still stands," Hunter spoke up while they were alone. "I would gladly have my sister's sloppy secon-" Before the words could leave his mouth, he was met with Esme's hand against his cheek with a resounding slap.

"Miss Song!" This time Mister Perino was peeling her away from Hunter.

"I didn't even fucking sleep with your sister!" Esme screamed, her voice breaking as her eyes filled with tears.

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa," Mister Simpson interjected, stepping between Hunter and Esme so they couldn't get physical again. "Slow down. Back up."

Perino forced Esme to sit down. She dropped her head in embarrassment, struggling to keep from crying.

Simpson forced Hunter into the furthest seat from Esme. He sat down on the edge of his desk in front of two of his students. "What is going on? Start from the beginning."

"I was just flirting," Hunter replied, holding his hands up defensively.

"You were not," Esme snapped, wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her denim jacket.

Perino cleared his throat, stating, "Pinning a girl to the floor and speaking obscenities to her is not innocent flirting, Mister Hollingsworth." He looked from the students to his colleague. "It's harassment, Archie."

The principal rubbed at his eyes from the stress of the situation. "Hunter, I will be calling your parents. And for the next three weeks, you will be in in-school suspension."

"Suspension?" Hunter shouted, jumping up from his chair.

"In-school?" Esme questioned, not wanting to see Hunter anytime soon.

"Esme, I'd like to you to go talk with Mister Del Rossi. Immediately. He and I will discuss any consequences for you after you talk." He rounded his desk to pick up his phone and dialed a number to alert the counselor she was on her way.

Perino escorted Esme around the corner to another office. The office she had been in that morning. He kept quiet until he walked into the room. "Hey Marco," he greeted.

Marco forced a smile. "Hey Tom." He got up from his desk. "Welcome back, Esme." He nodded, assuring his teacher turned colleague that they would be okay. Once the door was closed and Esme was sitting back on the couch, Marco pulled out a bag from a cabinet.

"Are you hungry?"

Esme lifted her head from her hands and shook her head. Although her stomach was aching from hunger. She just wanted to go home. Maybe not home, but at least, away from Degrassi.

Marco pulled out a small plastic wrapper and held it out to her. "It's just chocolate."

Esme contemplated about another half minute before she reached out for the candy. She unwrapped it and put it in her mouth, but the sugar just left her hungrier and on edge.

Mister Del Rossi sat down at the chair again. He waited for Esme to finish chewing on the chocolate before he spoke again. "Do you want to talk about what happened with Hunter?" he asked, his tone gentle, but prying.

Esme bit down on her lips, causing her lipstick to flake. "I didn't start it," she whispered. "I wasn't being an attention seeker."

Marco shook his head, assuring, "No one is accusing you of that." He reached over to his desk and tugged a tissue from the cardboard Kleenex box. He held it out to her and she accepted, smearing her lipstick further. "Why would you think you're being an attention seeker?"

Esme shrugged, wadding up the tissue in her hand. "Because I am." She stared at the carpet, feeling overwhelmed by the anger bubbling in her stomach. She wanted to throw up. She wanted to scream. She wanted to destroy everything around her. But mostly, she just wanted to disappear.

"Is that what Hunter said?"

Esme felt something snap at how calm the school counselor sounded. She stood up, collecting her bag, and shook her head. "Fuck him. I don't care what he says. He's just a delinquent piece of shit." She opened the door and stormed out of the office.

"Esme!"

Even hearing him call out didn't stop her from waltzing out of the office. She took deep breaths until her heartrate slowed down and headed towards the nearest exit to get away.


	2. Chapter 2

_Title: The Hive_

 _Rating: M_

 _Chapter: 2_

 _Fandom: Degrassi: The Next Generation_

 _Summary: Esme is back at school after spending the summer in rehab. Between no longer being Queen Bee and troubles at home, this is going to be struggle unlike any other._

 _Comments:_

 _Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the idea._

Esme stayed out as late as she possibly could without getting in trouble. She had gone to a bookstore, where she knew no one from school would bother her, until about 8:30. Not only was the shop closing, but she was supposed to home by 9 and was nearly half an hour across town from the apartment complex.

When she had made it to the apartment, she stopped in the hallway and winced hearing loud moaning through the front door. She took in a deep breath and let herself in before going to the kitchen. She was thankful she didn't find anyone around and realized that her father and _Tara_ were in his bedroom.

She groaned when she heard a voice scream her father's name as she popped a bagel into the toaster. "Overcompensating much," she grumbled under her breath to no one. While she waited for her bagel to finish, she got out a knife and a container of cream cheese.

"You whore."

Esme knew her father wasn't directing his loud moans at her, but that didn't make her feel any better. It almost made her feel worse. As if it were normal to be called a whore, especially when you were sexually expressing yourself with an entrusted partner.

She spread cream cheese over her bagel and started to munch, heading to her bedroom. By the time her door was shut, the sounds from her father's room had stopped. Esme set her bag on the floor and sat down in bed, finishing the last bites of her bagel.

She heard her doorknob click and glanced at the clock to check the time.

9:12.

She honestly had no way to prove that she hadn't missed her curfew and that she had been home for the last twenty minutes. She bit back a whimper when her father didn't enter the room, but his girlfriend did.

Tara was definitely pretty. Esme would give her that. There couldn't have been much of an age difference between the two of them. Tens years at most, but Esme had guessed it was closer to seven, which would put Tara at 25. She had long blonde hair that reached the middle of her back in perfected ringlets, but her roots were starting to come in again, a deep brown. Her eyes were almost silver, they were so grey. She had a soft face and perky breasts, a pouty mouth. Esme couldn't help staring sometimes since Tara was mostly in lingerie around the apartment.

In fact, right now, Tara was in a tightly laced teddy. The deep blue color made her pale skin glow, but that also could have been the sheen of sweat coating her body. Her teddy was hooked to a pair of stockings and her black heels clicked against the wooden floor.

"It's 9:30."

"It's not," Esme argued, getting up off her bed to put away her denim jacket. She would do anything right now, as long as she didn't have to look at the older woman in her room.

"You're late, you ungrateful little shit." Tara's voice was so high-pitched it made Esme's ears ring with pain. "Now your dad will send you to that military school he should have sent you to when you came back." She let out a sinister chuckle. "Or maybe he'll take you back to the asylum you escaped from."

Esme chewed on her red flaking, chapped lips to keep herself together. She shut her closet, her jacket now hung, and turned back to her father's girlfriend. "Oh, is that where he picked you up?" she asked, taking on a sweet tone. "Were you fully awake when he met you or still comatose from all the plastic stuck inside your brain?"

"You fucking bitch!" Tara shouted, stomping over to Esme and grabbed her by a fistful of loose curls. Esme let out a whimper as Tara dragged her out of the bedroom. She threw her boyfriend's daughter on the floor in hallway, screaming, "Felix!"

When Esme looked up through frayed curls at her father, she shivered. She prayed he would get have the confidence to stand up to his girlfriend for her, but she knew any girl willing to get on her knees for him would always have priority over her wellbeing.

"What did you do now, Esmeralda?" her father sighed, already annoyed by the situation.

"She missed her curfew and now she's talking back," Tara complained with a pout, prancing over to her boyfriend's side.

"Esmeralda," Felix growled at his daughter. "Is it not enough that you ruined my whole summer by getting yourself locked away in a hospital? You go and miss your curfew and then dare to offend my girlfriend!"

Esme winced, looking down at the floor underneath her. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Get up!" Felix shouted, pulling away from Tara to grab Esme by the arm. He lifted her from the floor and shoved her back toward the bedroom door. "Go to your room."

Esme stumbled towards the door with a tiny whimper and quickly stepped inside. She shut the door and pressed the lock in to make sure she couldn't be followed. She pressed her forehead against the door and struggled to hold back a sob.


	3. Chapter 3

_Title: The Hive_

 _Rating: M_

 _Chapter: 3_

 _Fandom: Degrassi: The Next Generation_

 _Summary: Esme is back at school after spending the summer in rehab. Between no longer being Queen Bee and troubles at home, this is going to be struggle unlike any other._

 _Comments:_

 _Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the idea._

On Tuesday, Esme woke up to the sound of silence. She looked around her room and realized she was still in her clothes from the day before. She quickly stripped out of the previous day's outfit and wrapped herself in a towel.

She was relieved to find that her bedroom door was still locked so her father hadn't tried to jimmy it open, nor had his girlfriend. She went to the bathroom in the hallway and, locking the other door behind her, took a quick shower. She scrubbed the leftover makeup off her face violently with red nails and blow dried her hair before she fixed her face and hair for the day. Instead of spending too much time, she pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail. She headed back to her bedroom, wrapped in a towel, and quickly slipped on a dress for the day.

When she made it out to the kitchen, she realized there were dirty dishes cluttering the counter. At least her dad was already gone for the day. She wasn't sure about his girlfriend. She grabbed an apple off the counter and headed out as fast as she could.

After popping into the Dot for an iced latte, Esme drove up to Degrassi with her half-eaten apple in the seat beside her. She got out of her car, throwing the rest of the apple in the nearest trash bin. She tried to make it up the stairs without calling attention to herself, but just as the day before, someone called her name.

Esme turned around to find Frankie standing three steps below her, but this time the younger girl was all alone. Frankie dared to take another step up towards Esme. Esme crossed her arms over her chest protectively.

"I heard what Hunter did yesterday," Frankie informed quietly. She reached out, now only a step below Esme. "I'm so sorry, Ezzie."

Esme winced when Frankie rested her hand on her arm, pain searing. She hadn't realized when she was getting ready that her father had grabbed her so hard that she was left with a mark.

Frankie, thinking she had hurt Esme, pulled her hand back, mumbling yet another apology.

Esme shook her head, shrugging, "It's okay." She looked past Frankie, seeing Hunter bullshitting around with his friends. "It's not like you told him to say it. It must be pretty hard having to live with a delinquent like him." She let out a bitter laugh. "And I thought Miles brought shame and scandal to your family." She pouted her lips and jutted her hip to the side, trying to look like she didn't care about the Hollingsworths.

Frankie frowned at the sound of Esme's accusations. "That's a bit harsh," she whispered. She tried to get Esme to meet her eyes. "Hunter has his problems, but he's not a bad person."

Esme let out a chuckle. "Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night, Frankie. I don't care." She turned away from Frankie and stomped inside.

She kept her eyes on the ground, flying past the front office as fast as possible so that an adult didn't pull her aside for another conversation about her feelings.

Staying away from Hunter had been easy, since he was confined to one room all day to serve his in-school suspension. However, avoiding Frankie had been a relentless chore. They shared three out of four classes together. Luckily, Lola or Shay were always with her and preoccupying Frankie's conversation.

Esme dipped out of the school to the Dot for lunch, so she could continue to be unbothered. She returned with another disposable iced coffee and went straight to the library for her free period so she could read and drink in pure undisturbed silence.

Esme thought she was going to get away with loneliness for the day, but when she showed up to Mister Mitchell's literature class, he was standing by his desk speaking with the school counselor. Esme shucked her empty plastic cup into the nearest garbage bin, trying not to make a scene, but drew attention to herself nonetheless.

"Esme," Mister Mitchell beckoned, looking over at her.

Esme let out a frustrated sigh, not moving from where she stood by the open door.

When she didn't move, Mister Del Rossi thanked the English teacher before meeting Esme where she stood. He gestured to the door and she stomped into the hallway.

"What?" Esme snapped.

"I just wanted to see how you're doing?"

"How I'm doing?" Esme laughed at him, suddenly unbothered by the attention she was getting. "I started school yesterday and you keep stalking me. How do you think I am!"

Marco took in a deep breath and counted to five silently in his head. "Esme, maybe you'd like some privacy. We could go back to my office."

"I'm going to lit class." Esme pointed at the door. "And then I'm going home." She didn't want for a reply from him before she headed back into the classroom.


End file.
